NEVS has recently released photos of its updated 9-3 Series, and guess what? It is now powered by an all-electric powertrain, which means that it’s another candidate to look out for in the EV segment.

National Electric Vehicle Sweden or NEVS, in collaboration with Tianjin Binhai Hi-tech Industrial Development Area, recently announced the launching of its new car-sharing and ride hailing program which will be run in Tianjin, a Chinese metropolis with an estimated 15 million population. The program will allow customers to access this new lineup of 9-3 EV series, providing both the vehicle as well as the mobility services (delivery of the vehicle).

The Swiss company is also planning to release two other models which include the classic four-door saloon and a jacked-up wagon version, the 9-3X EV.

Mahindra & Mahindra is nearing to finalize an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the financially distressed National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), according to a report by the Financial Times, citing court documents. NEVS is the current owner of Saab. Mahindra plans to acquire what remains of Saab to accelerate its expansion into western markets and into premium and electric cars, the Times said.

Lars Eric Gustafsson, the appointed administrator for NEVS, said earlier this month that an Asian carmaker has agreed to purchase a majority stake in NEVS. However, both Gustafsson and NEVS didn’t disclosed the name of the carmaker.

According to the SaabsUnited Web site, NEVS and Mahindra have inked a deal for the Indian company to become a majority owner of NEVS. The investment company has disclosed that a Swedish court had green-lighted an extension of its reorganization for a three more months until March 2, 2015 to allow it to finalize discussion with potential investors.

General Motors Co. said it will issue a warning to some owners of Saab 9-2X and Pontiac Vibe hatchbacks in the United States not to have passengers sit on the front seat until faulty air bags from Takata Corp. are replaced.

The carmaker’s disclosure comes after the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently expanded its warning over faulty airbags manufactured by the Japanese supplier to 6.1 million vehicles in the country.

The NHTSA said in a statement that it is urging owners of certain models built by Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford and GM “to act immediately on recall notices to replace defective Takata airbags.”

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), now owner of Saab, has filed an application with a Swedish court for short-term protection from creditors while it concludes financing discussions with two major carmakers. NEVS resumed in 2013 low-volume output of Saab but stopped production in May saying it does not have enough cash to pay its outstanding debt.

NEVS has been holding discussions with two undisclosed carmakers to secure additional funds. NEVS President Mattias Bergman said in a statement that the negotiations the Chinese company has with two global carmakers are still progressing.

He remarked talks are complex and have taken more time than NEVS predicted. He added that the company needs more time to complete the negotiations and reach an agreement. NEVS has around 400 suppliers of direct materials and 500 suppliers of indirect materials.

Although some reports were saying that Saab owner National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) was facing financial difficulties, the company surprised us all when it unveiled the 9-3 electric vehicle. The vehicle you see in the photos is based on the Saab 9-3 and uses an electric motor that generates 140 hp (100 kW) which takes its energy from the lithium-ion battery pack produced by Beijing National Battery Technology.

The prototype vehicle can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 10 seconds and offers a top speed of 120 km/h or 74.5 mph. What is more interesting is that the vehicle has a range of almost 200 km (124 miles), which is considerably more than most of the electric vehicles found on the market, except the Tesla Model S of course.

As expected, the 9-3 EV is in fact a modified Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan and the batteries are located under the floor, which means that the vehicle retains its interior space and luggage compartment.

Things are not working quite well for the National Electric Vehicle of Sweden (NEVS) a.k.a. the company that lifted Saab out of bankruptcy. It appears that the parent company is now facing the same problems as Saab as a Swedish court declared NEVS bankrupt.

The reason is that the company failed to pay Labo Test, which supplies test equipment for car parts. NEVS failed to pay 150,000 kronor or $22,000 since February.

For those who don’t know, NEVS is owned by a group based on Hong Kong and acquired Saab out of bankruptcy after Spyker Cars failed to revive it. Back in May, we announced that Saab production was stopped due to lack of funds at National Electric Vehicle Sweden.

General Motors has issued a recall of 28,789 MY2004-2011 Saab 9-3 convertibles in the United States over a seat belt issue that had covered sedan models. GM was Saab’s previous owner from 2000 to 2010. GM disclosed that the automatic tensioning cable in the drivers’ side seat-belt retractor could break, which may render the seat belt to fail to retract.

GM said in a statement that it has no knowledge of crashes or injuries linked to the issue. GM likewise announced that passenger-side seat belt retractors in the 9-3 convertible will be covered under warranty over the unit’s lifetime if they need replacing.

GM has recalled the Saab 9-3 sedan twice in the US over a similar issue, covering 9,322 cars in 2004 and 14,126 cars in 2010. The convertible, however, wasn’t part of the recall. GM noted that while the convertibles and sedans were probed at the same time, the convertible parts were not identical to the sedan parts.

Production at Swedish carmaker Saab has been stopped temporarily due to lack of funds at parent National Electric Vehicle Sweden. NEVS recently disclosed in a statement that it currently has no sufficient cash to pay outstanding debt since its part-owner, Qingbo Investment Co., has not fulfilled its commitment to finance its activities when needed. NEVS is also cutting its workforce.

NEVS spokesman Mikael Ostlund divulged that the company will start idling its Trollhattan plant in Sweden on May 22, 2014. The production stoppage will last for four weeks. Qingbo -- the investment agency of the city of Qingdao, China – acquired a 22-percent stake in NEVS in 2013 and has ordered 200 Saab EVs for the city.

Ostlund clarified that Qingbo has not terminated the agreement and has vowed to complete it. NEVS is staking its revival plans for Saab on an EV version of a decade-old model, targeting China as its primary market.

National Electric Vehicle Sweden has commenced the series production of the Saab 9-3 mid-sized sedan at its Trollhattan site in Sweden, with sales to be ''initially focused'' in China. In a statement, NEVS said that production of the Saab 9-3 Aero sedan featuring a 2.0-liter turbo gasoline engine will be ''very modest'' with output initially placed at around 10 cars a week.

NEVS said that a small number of units will be sold directly to Swedish customers through its Web site starting next week. The 9-3 Aero, which looks similar to the last production 9-3 produced at Trollhattan in 2011, will have a starting price of SEK279,000 ($42,600).

Mattias Bergman, NEVS president, said in the statement that to begin a car production process that had been stagnant for two-and-a-half years is “a complex mission.”

As you may know already NEVS started production of the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan on Monday and already announced that the car will be first sold in China, but a small number of vehicles will be sold so Swedish customers via its website. According to the National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS), the car that is produced is a high-spec Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan and is powered by a 2.0-liter turbo rated at 220 hp.

In order to ensure a solid ownership experience NEVS intends to offer service and parts distribution in partnership with Orio AB (formerly known as Saab Automobile Parts AB). An electric car based on the Saab 9-3 will also be launched in spring 2014 and as expected, China will get it first. Nevs’ partner and part owner Qingdao placed an order for a pilot fleet of 200 electric cars.

The petrol-powered 2014 Saab 9-3 will go on sale in Sweden on December 10 at a price of 279 000 SEK ($42,800) with manual transmission and 289 000 SEK ($44,100) with automatic transmission.

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) will commence series production of the Saab 9-3 mid-sized sedan at its Trollhattan site on Dec. 3, 2013 -- almost two years since the carmaker was forced to file for bankruptcy. The last Saab cars rolled off the production line in April 2011. Saab -- then owned by Spyker NV -- filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 19, 2011.

The move was confirmed by NEVS spokesman Mikael Oestlund to Automotive News Europe. He added that initial output would be at a "humble" pace with the possibility to raise the volume over time. More details will be provided on Monday.

NEVS bought Saab out of bankruptcy in August 2013. NEVS was able to restart production after it inked an agreement with parts suppliers, according to Oestlund.

Saab's new owner -- National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) -- has produced two Saab 9-3 test cars at the brand's Trollhattan site in Sweden. The Saab 9-3s are the first vehicles to be rolled out from the Trollhattan production line since that site was shut down in April 2011. Saab went on to file for bankruptcy eight months later.

According to NEVS, the 9-3 test cars are mainly intended to assist in calibrating production line systems and to test new components ahead of full production. Mattias Bergman, acting president of NEVS, said in a statement, that before their decision to commence production of Saab cars, they need to “finalize a few remaining dialogues to build partnerships with suppliers.”

He said that they now know that the Trollhattan site is ready for production. NEVS is planning to commence production of the turbocharged 9-3 later this year. Mikael Oestlund, a spokesman for NEVS, told Automotive News Europe that the new 9-3 will be very similar to the last Saab built in 2011.

National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), Saab’s new owner, wants to restart production at the carmaker’s closed factory in Trollhattan, Sweden later this year. NEVS spokesman Mikael Oestlund Oestlund told Automotive News Europe that Saab’s Trollhattan site is "practically ready" to commence building the 9-3 mid-sized car.

He added that the company has hired around 300 people, including team leaders, to oversee assembly of the vehicles. NEVS, which is owned by a Chinese renewable energy investor, bought Saab out of bankruptcy in August 2012. According to Oestlund, the 9-3 that will be built will be very similar to the 9-3 that Saab halted building in 2011.

He said that the petrol version of the 9-3 would be a turbocharged one. He added that Saab plans to launch an electric version of the 9-3 in 2014, which would feature a more inclusive face-lift. The 9-3 electric version will use batteries built by NEVS sister company Beijing National Battery Technology.

The United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware has approved a plan by Saab Cars North America Inc. to liquidate its assets and repay its creditors. Judge Christopher Sontchi has signed off the plan of the company to repay all secured creditors and some portion of unsecured claims, while wiping out equity holders.

The approval effectively ends the bankruptcy of the US unit of Swedish carmaker Saab Automobile AB. Several of the unit’s dealers in the US forced it into bankruptcy in 2012 after Saab Automobile entered liquidation proceedings in Sweden.

General Motors Co. sold Saab Automobile to Dutch carmaker Spyker Cars NV in 2010. The Dutch company, however, also had its own liquidity problems and was not able to keep Saab profitable. According to court papers, Saab North America's liquidation plan entails giving full payout to secured creditors, including government-owned Ally Financial.

Spyker NV has disclosed that it will appeal a decision by United States District Judge Gershwin Drain of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan dismissing its $3 billion lawsuit against General Motors Co. Spyker has accused GM of trying to collapse Swedish carmaker Saab.

Saab said that after a “careful review” of the court ruling, it decided to make an appeal. In dismissing Spyker’s lawsuit, Judge Drain said on June 10, 2013, that GM had a contractual right to approve or disapprove the proposed sale of Saab to Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. Saab halted production in May 2011 when it lost ability to pay suppliers and it workforce.

Saab declared bankruptcy in December 2011, less than two years after GM sold the carmaker to Spyker. The Dutch sports car maker filed a case against GM in August 2012, seeking damages and accusing GM of trying to ruin the deal with Zhejiang and get rid of a potential rival in China. [source: Reuters]

Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority will invite former Saab chairman Victor Muller as part of an investigation into alleged tax-related offenses at the carmaker. Muller, however, is not suspected of wrongdoing. He is now chief executive of Spyker, a sports carmaker that acquired Saab from General Motors in 2010.

In a statement, Spyker said that the Gothenburg district attorney has confirmed that Muller is not a suspect, and he may be invited for interview possibly in October. Swedish prosecutors are probing into claims that Saab executives blocked proper tax checks from 2010 to 2011, when the company was experiencing several struggles that included heavy financial fixes that eventually forced the carmaker to collapse.

Katinka Wall, a spokeswoman for the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, confirmed that the former Saab chairman will be summoned as part of a wider probe and that he is not being served as a suspect.

If Saab didn’t collapse, it would have already built a coupé version of the defunct 2012 9-3, according to Autocar. Meant to compete with the Audi A5, this vehicle would have been based on the Phoenix platform (which Saab engineered) that was used on the all-new 9-3 hatchback. It was intended to be a 2+2.

According to sources, it was supposed to get a ‘Sonett’ badge, which is the name used for a range of three small Saab sports cars, produced between 1955 and 1974. It would have been available with different variants of the Mini’s existing 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine.

There may have even been a 4x4 performance version with an electrically powered rear axle, which provided torque vectoring for a much better handling. Jason Castriota, Phoenix project design chief, is believed to have influenced the engineering of the Phoenix platform.

The City of Qingdao in China’s Shandong-province has become a partner of NEVS after making an initial investment of SEK 2 billion and acquiring a 22% share of NEVS through a directed share issue. Qingdao will make more investments in a joint venture company in China. NEVS is based in Trollhättan, Sweden where product development and manufacturing is situated.

Qingdao will invest in NEVS in consecutive stages. By doing so, NEVS gets a financially stable investor as well as a business partner that offers access to a vital market.

Qingdao, through its investment company Qingdao Qingbo Investment Co, Ltd, has inked a deal with NEVS’ parent company National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd. and with National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS).

Production of the Saab 9-3 will resume later this year while an electric version will follow in 2014, according to National Electric Vehicles Sweden, the owner of the Saab brand. However, these cars will be produced in China instead of at Saab’s Trollhattan factory, as part of the modification in NEVS’s initial plan.

NEVS has inked an agreement with a Chinese investment company to produce cars in Qingdao. The city’s government has acquired a 22% share in the company. Chinese media said that under the deal, both electric and conventionally-powered cars will be built. NEVS owns the rights to build the last Saab 9-3, as well as the electric ePower version that never started production.

In addition, it has the right to use the Saab name. NEVS had originally set out to build Saab units only at Trollhattan. China’s government hopes that half a million electric vehicles will be seen on the streets within two years so there’s a big potential for electric Saabs. The problem is that the 9-3 is aging and it is also the only model NVS has.

Saab owners in the U.S. and Canada don’t have to worry anymore about the warranty service coverage for their vehicles since an agreement has been entered between General Motors and Saab Automobile Parts North America. In a joint statement, the companies said that under the agreement, SPNA will offer warranty administration and related services for 2009 vehicles and prior Saab vehicles that continue to be covered under the limited warranty of GM.

In the statement, Tim Colbeck, CEO of Saab Automobile Parts North America, said that the deal with General Motors is a crucial step in the support for Saab owners located in North America and making sure that they get access to Saab Genuine Parts, service programs and technical support for the future years.

The companies said that Saab will deliver the services via its network of warranty service providers. They also said that the transition of warranty services from GM to SPNA started on Dec. 17. Those that are covered under the deal could bring their Saab vehicles to get worked on at any of SPNA's 179 warranty service providers. GM spokeswoman Pamela Flores said the company wants to prove how committed it is to its customers, who should have access to these services in a seamless manner.